50s
UNC, he belonged to NROTC. ◆ William Henry
Dixon Jr. (’ 52), 85, of Greensboro; Jan. 8, 2012.
Dixon was an independent polygraph examiner and
a private detective. He also owned Office Machines
Co. in Greensboro and later joined the Security
Division of The Pantry. During WWII, he served in the
Merchant Marines. At UNC, he belonged to Lambda
Chi Alpha. ◆ Samuel Herndon Helton Jr. (’ 52, ’ 55
BSBA), 81, of Greensboro; Jan. 12, 2012. Helton
worked for the IRS for 30 years. He served in the
Army. ◆ John Robert Hyre (’ 52 BSBA), 82, of
Fuquay-Varina; Dec. 26, 2010. Hyre was a hospital
administrator at Duke University Medical Center for
25 years. ◆ Joan Flanagan O’Brien (’ 52), 91, of
Raleigh; Nov. 17, 2011. O’Brien was a secretary in
the UNC School of Medicine’s biochemistry department and later at the Frank Porter Graham Child
Development Center in Chapel Hill. Early in her
career, she taught at Hope Valley High School in
Durham. ◆ Nancy Bailey Rich (’ 52 AB, ’ 63 MA), 81,
of Raleigh; Jan. 6, 2012. Rich was an English professor at N.C. State University, where she taught for
33 years. Following retirement in 1995, she founded
Justice for Animals and served as its president. ◆
Lorraine Scott Smith (’ 52 ABEd), 84, of Belhaven;
Dec. 25, 2011. Smith taught Spanish for 16 years
at LeRoy Martin Junior High School in Raleigh and
later taught in Siler City. She gave lessons in
Spanish and piano until she died. ◆ Richard James
Tuggle (’ 52 BSBA, ’ 59 JD), 81, of Greensboro; Jan.
23, 2012. Tuggle was a lawyer and a CPA, one of
the first professionals in North Carolina to be both.
In 1959, he joined Smith Moore Smith Schell &
Hunter. He co-founded Tuggle Duggins law firm in
1974 and worked there for 38 years. He founded
the Southern Federal Tax Institute and the
Greensboro Estate Planning Council and worked on
tax and business programs for the N.C. State Bar,
receiving a Distinguished Service Award, and the
N.C. Association of Certified Accountants, receiving
its Lifetime Achievement Award. The Educational
Foundation of UNC designated him a Super Ram. He
served in the Army. At UNC, he belonged to Order of
the Coif, Delta Sigma Pi and Law Review and was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
News & Observer. He served as a youth guidance
counselor at Dorothea Dix Hospital for more than 20
years and was recognized by Gov. Jim Hunt for his
voluntary contributions to the mental health field.
During the Korean War, he was in the Air Force. ◆
Marjorie Ward “Midge” Munds (’ 53), 79, of Indi-
anapolis; Feb. 18, 2011. Munds was active in civic
and church groups. At UNC, she belonged to Chi
Omega. ◆ Joe Carroll Nelson (’ 53 BSBA), 80, of
Clemmons; Jan. 5, 2012. Nelson worked for R.J.
Reynolds for 34 years. He was a veteran of the
Army. ◆ Frank R. Thies Jr. (’ 53 MA), 82, of Char-
lotte; Jan. 10, 2012. Thies was president of Thies
Realty & Mortgage Co., founded by his grandfather.
He was a trustee of the Nalle Clinic Foundation and
a founder of Charlotte Latin School, serving on its
board of trustees for 10 years as the first chair. He
founded Southeastern Savings Bank and was its
chair and president. He also was a founding director
of The Scottish Bank. He served in the Army during
the Korean War. ◆ Robert Gaige Van Nostrand (’ 53
PhD), 93, of Culpeper, Va.; Jan. 20, 2012. Van Nos-
trand was an exploratory physicist for 40 years in
the U.S. and France, with assignments to Portugal
and North Africa. He was vice president of Teledyne
Geotech and an honorary member of the Society of
Exploration Geophysicists. He was an Eagle Scout.
During WWII, he served in the Army Signal Corps.
’ 54 ■ obituaries J. William Hollingsworth (’ 54 AB), 80,
of Boone; Dec. 23, 2011. Hollingsworth retired as
president of S.H. Hollingsworth Management Co. He
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General Alumni Association
’ 53 ■ obituaries E. Howard Hearn (’ 53), 80, of Carrboro;
Dec. 21, 2011. Hearn was a retired real estate
salesman. He was a combat controller with the Air
Force during the Korean War. ◆ Peter Thorleif
“Buddy” Hulth Jr. (’ 53 ABJO), 87, of Smithfield;
Dec. 20, 2011. Hulth was a staff writer with The
Smithfield Herald from 1955 until he retired in
1992. He won statewide first-place awards for spot-news reporting and feature writing. He volunteered
with the East Carolina Boy Scout Council, served as
publicity chair of the Johnston County United Way for
eight years and was a member of the Smithfield
Salvation Army board for 18 years. He was an amateur radio hobbyist and an expert Morse telegrapher.
During WWII and the Korean War, he served in the
Navy. He also taught NATO sailors how to use radio
receivers and transmitters in 1948. He received a
number of military awards, including theater medals
for Asia and Europe. ◆ Macon Marshall Jefferys
(’ 53), 80, of Raleigh; Dec. 22, 2011. Jefferys was a
journalist who was managing editor of weekly newspapers in Fuquay-Varina and Angier. He was city editor of The Sanford Herald and a copy editor with The
